


There are worse things I could do

by SydCybertronian



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Gift Fic, Heavy Angst, M/M, My First AO3 Post, gratuitous angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-04
Updated: 2017-09-04
Packaged: 2018-12-23 18:42:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11995725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SydCybertronian/pseuds/SydCybertronian
Summary: It’s hard not to cry when half of your body has been crushed under two tonnes of rock but Obito still attempts to hold back. He’s more numb than in agony and Obito knows enough from Rin to know that’s not a good thing; an appeasement for the dying, making the oncoming death smoother. Rin is already sobbing, silently behind Kakashi’s shoulder, trembling hands pressed over her face. Kakashi’s remaining eye is filled with horror and a suspicious dampness, his hands fluttering over what remains of Obito like birds not knowing where to land.Or Kakashi is almost too late to accept his soulmate and everything changes because he refuses to leave Obito to die alone.





	There are worse things I could do

**Author's Note:**

  * For [raendown](https://archiveofourown.org/users/raendown/gifts).



> For raendown as a gift for going on a spree of going on a spree of writing random requests while drunk on tumblr. In the honor of your soulmate fic I present to you what I seem incapable of NOT writing: ANGST *wavy hands* Also my first fic on this website. *shrugs* Good to start somewhere???

It’s hard not to cry when half of your body has been crushed under two tonnes of rock but Obito still attempts to hold back. He’s more numb than in agony and Obito knows enough from Rin to know that’s not a good thing; an appeasement for the dying, making the oncoming death smoother. Rin is already sobbing, silently behind Kakashi’s shoulder, trembling hands pressed over her face. Kakashi’s remaining eye is filled with horror and a suspicious dampness, his hands fluttering over what remains of Obito like birds not knowing where to land.

Obito tells Rin to give his eye to Kakashi, to replace the one he lost. Tries to sell it as repaying the young jounin for coming to save Rin at the last moment but when Kakashi stands resolute in his refusal Obito crumples and admits “I want a piece of me to stay with you Kakashi. Even if _I_ can’t be there with you.” and Kakashi finally agrees, misery saturating his voice. Kakashi uncharacteristically clutches his hand while Rin takes Obito’s eye, his sight, and gives it over to Kakashi. Through the touch Obito can sense the strength in Kakashi’s soul -the one linked to Obito, the one Kakashi had tried denying- while Kakashi can surely sense the weakening flutter of his own.

“All right.” Obito tries to sound authoritative with half of his body crushed and his remaining eye leaving with his soulmate. “Time for you two to get out of here. Complete the mission, save Konoha.” He tries a smile on and knows he must look horrible, trembling lips and an empty eye socket, entirely covered in his own blood because all Kakashi does is tighten his grip on Obito’s hand.

“No.” Kakashi’s voice is sharp and Obito’s smile falls off his face in surprise. He can feel it when Kakashi turns to face Rin. “Rin, go find Minato-sensei. I’m fairly certain that the fighting will be over now so you can probably afford to use a chakra flare to get his attention. He knows to watch out for our chakra. I’ll keep an eye on your chakra as well so if you get in trouble you need to send me a flare and run for cover. Finding Minato-sensei and bringing him back here are your top priorities. Go now!” and speechless, Obito hears the slight rustle of fabric as presumably Rin nods or even salutes, and then the soft crunch of gravel as she sets off at a dead silent run.

“Bakashi!” Obito snaps, loudly as he can with one lung crushed and blood seeping out of his crushed body. “What d’you think you’re doing?!”

“I’m not leaving you.” Kakashi says, edged with glass, a tension in his voice Obito doesn’t normally hear, but has been hearing a lot this mission.

“Kakashi,” Obito gentles his voice, not sure why this boy, the boy who had glared at Obito when he’d tried to bring up their being soulmates. The boy who’d coldly stated to Minato that soulmates were a waste of time with Obito only just coming up the path late as always -he’d had to rescue a cat out of a tree for a little girl- just in time to hear how empty Kakashi’s voice had sounded as he’d made this statement to their sensei. Hearing it Obito had felt every inch as flayed inside as he did when one of his relatives eyed him disdainfully and then pretended he didn’t exist.

He hadn’t talked to Kakashi for two days after and only did so then because he was forced to go on a mission with him. He’d nursed a small resentment for the other boy since then, a tiny aching wound he tried to hide. But then the rocks had been coming down and Kakashi couldn’t see them because he was missing the eye he would need to see them, missing the eye because he’d lost it _saving_ _Obito_ and what else can Obito do now but the same? Then the rocks came down and with them came agony and certain death, but Obito would rather die now than regret not saving his soulmate for the rest of his life.

Obito coughed helplessly, back in the present as Kakashi shook his shoulder abruptly, Obito’s name frantic on his lips and Obito realized he’d stopped breathing there for a little while. “Sorry, sorry.” Obito gagged, licking away the blood coating the inside of his lips. “Why are you here? Why won’t you _leave me_ ? You wouldn’t have any trouble leaving me if you just acted like you did _before_.” He would flush at the querulousness in his own voice if he had any blood left to spare for embarrassment.

“I won’t leave you.” Kakashi stated firmly and Obito whined in frustration aware that he might be getting a little delirious with blood loss.

“But why?” he whimpered “I’m dying, I deserve to know Bakashi.”

“Because I’m going to bury you next to my father!” Kakashi yelled, voice fragmenting halfway through, abruptly settling himself down on the ground next to Obito and pressing his body all alongside Obito’s, cradling his shoulder and clutching his hand. “Because he died for a stupid reason and you’re dying for a stupid reason and I won’t leave you here alone when I left him alone.” The words are coming out like bile and all Obito can do is listen, and wish he still had undamaged tear ducts.

Kakashi heaves a wet breath and that he’s crying is obvious in his next words “I know it’s cheating to say I want to be by your side for the rest of your life because you’re dying right now, but I wasted too much time and now this is all the time we have left and it’s all my fault.” Small sobs cough out of Kakashi’s still-small frame and Obito can feel them through Kakashi’s body plastered to his side.

“Okay.” Obito whispers, “Okay.” And then, “Kakashi?”

“Yeah?” The hold on his hand grows tighter.

“You better plant me some honeysuckle near my grave. They’re my favorite. Give something to your dad too while you’re at it, and try to visit us at least once a week. Please?”

“I will.” The breaths near Obito’s ear grow ragged and fast as Obito’s slow; more and more distance between each wheezing breath.

“Love you, Bakashi…” He barely manages to get the words out and clings to Kakashi’s hand as tightly as he can, which isn’t very.

“You too, Obito.”

Only after those words were spoken did Obito allow the current that had been tugging on him for a while now to pull him even deeper into darkness, to drag him under the waves and weave of the world, into unconsciousness. The warmth of Kakashi at his side fading into the distance and the cadence of his paired soul easing the way.

\---

He wakes up a month later in Konoha’s hospital, blinking an eye open to the setting sun over his village, his sight drifting from the vase of water filled with honeysuckle and then down over to the silver head of hair resting on Obito’s bed. Wait. His sight? He blinks his right eye, wondering how they managed to save it and doesn’t need to feel with his hand to know that his left eye is still gone. In lieu of answers Obito runs his bandaged fingers through Kakashi’s surprisingly soft-seeming hair and waits for the other boy to wake up, much as the other boy had probably done for him. He sends a small chakra spike out and smiles when he feels two familiar startled-but-joyful spikes in response and an answering unconscious pulse from his sleeping soulmate.

Of course things turned out differently. He made it home with his soulmate. He survived. Everything else could wait. Reunions, answers, the state of the war, how they saved him when even he thought he couldn’t be saved. For now he cherishes a quiet moment with his sleeping soulmate. He’s gonna make Kakashi keep his promise about the ‘rest of his life’ thing. He’s not planning on going anywhere.


End file.
